Terrifying Robot Killers in Hollywood: Friday Essentials

Welcome everyone to the most glorious day of the week and we’re sure you might already be preparing for the coming 2 days filled with absolute fun. And even better if you’ve got a list of sci-fi movies and TV shows that you’ll binge on. The world is pretty fired up and excited about the rise and development of Artificial Intelligence technology, but good old Hollywood is certainly full of paranoia. And what better way to express this lurking fear of intelligent machines than by putting a Killer Robot in a movie.

There are innumerable movies where you can see ruthless killing machines tear their human victims apart. But there have been some highly devious and malevolent killer robots in movies that have surpassed even the most barbaric of humans when it comes to destroying victims. Therefore, we’ve prepared a list of some great sci-fi horror movies that feature some of the most merciless and inhumane killing machines in cinema history for you to watch this weekend.

Warbeast (Death Machine)

The plot of this movie is the very reason why one shouldn’t employ a mad scientist to do weapons research. Death Machine was released in 1994, by Ed Norrington who worked on special effects for movies such as Aliens, Split Second and the Witches etc. Warbeast is a sort of like a ‘Mecha’ lion made from nearly indestructible metal and pheromone sensors that allow it to track victims through their fear. Not to mention it’s vicious metal tooth filled mandibles that will put Velociraptors to shame and claws that slice and dice victims into smooth puree.

Deathly robots come in all shapes and sizes and they don’t need to look intimidating to kill you. Although the 1986 movie Chopping Mall wasn’t a huge success when released, its considered a cult classic today. It featured R2D2 esque robots, as a part of a state-of-the-art security installation inside a shopping mall. Things go awry when a lightning storm causes malfunction in the computer (cos why not!) and these robots begin their ruthless killing spree.

Autonomous Mobile Swords (Screamers)

Another movie that has gained significant cult status, Screamers was released in 1995. The story was a typical sci-fi horror where machines turn on their creators. What made this unique though are the killing machines named Autonomous Mobile Swords (AMS), that are self-sentient machines that are designed to hunt down and kill humans. They were dubbed as ‘Screamers’ in-movie due to the high-pitched shrieking sound they produce while attacking.

One of the most iconic killing machine is hands down, Robert Patrick’s portrayal of T-1000 in Terminator 2. In the movie T-1000 is sent back in time by Skynet to hunt and kill a teenage John Connor, before he can rise to become the leader of human resistance against machines. T-1000 is made of amorphous liquid metal that makes it’s impervious to heavy damage, gunfire, explosions and physical injuries. It can also shapeshift to look like any human or surface and can form stabbing and bladed weapons with its arms.

Hal 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

Sometimes you don’t need to have a laser shooting droid to create a sinister killing machine. Same can be said about the homicidal Hal 9000 that simply made its victims tremble with the emotionless tone of its voice. Hal 9000 is portrayed as an experimental artificial intelligence computer meant to assist space researchers during interplanetary missions. Like it always happens, soon the computer malfunctions and goes homicidal in a way that would shame the most devious criminals.

The Matrix (The Matrix)

Killer robots are ok if you can turn them off. But what happens when the roles of humans and machines are reversed? The result was the 1999 blockbuster The Matrix, that showed a world where humans have been enslaved by machines that keep us in a constant state of dream as they harvest humans for powering machines with their body heat. All this is possible thanks to the enslavement simulation called ‘The Matrix’ that makes us believe that we’re living our normal lives, while we lie submerged in pods to generate power. Unsettling on a lot of levels if you ask!

Another malfunctioning peacekeeping robot gone mad, Ed 209 appeared in the 1987 film Robocop as a replacement for the titular character, created by OCP. The machine is decommissioned during its demo where it malfunctions and literally shreds a researcher with a barrage of high-caliber ammo. The droid was not only malfunctional, but could be easily compromised by amateur hackers to gain control over it. A true recipe for disaster, just like a lot of IOT tech in real life.

We do not want you to get paranoid after reading this post, as it’s only made for your entertainment. Nevertheless, if you love sci-fi movies and think that we missed on some big names, please feel free to mention in the comments below.

Author: Akshay PeterAkshay Luke Peters is a writer and blogger for Systweak Software. He likes to write about off-beat topics and technological awareness. He is also part musician who likes to explore the future of technology in entertainment and popular media.

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